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Small, but significant baby steps are being made now by the state government and the Kuki-Zo organisations to bring back normalcy in the state of Manipur. It is the first sign the ice is thawing.
Firstly, illegally procured fire arms looted from the police armouries are being recovered in regular frequency. Secondly, the willingness of all societies in Manipur, including the Kuki-Zo organisations, to get National Registry of Citizens (NRC) conducted is a significant positive development.
Thirdly, significant development is the desire expressed by displaced Kuki-Zo families sheltering in Kangpokpi area to return to Imphal . It can be read as a signal to the state government that steps for normalisation may be taken up now. Fourthly, inference can be made from the utterances that an empowered territorial council in the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council under Article 244-A for the Kuki-Zo may be an acceptable step in lieu of a separate administration.
Narrowing down the problems to these four points is a big step forward towards normalisation of the crisis faced by Manipur as a state. Recovery of looted guns, to make all civilians feel safe, would depend much on the will and determination of the state government. The outcome of this efforts would be a litmus test for the state government about its sincerity and seriousness to normalise the law and order situation. Under no circumstances civilians of both sides can remain armed and the looted guns would need to be recovered fully at a faster pace on war footing within given timelines.
The tricky issue about NRC is the choice of the cut-off year. Some cut-off years like 1951 and 1961 have been suggested earlier, but the determining factor would be the availability of detailed household records of Manipur of the relevant Census period with the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) and Office of Registrar General of Citizen Registration (RGCR). The village-wise register of citizens is to be drawn up from the relevant Census records. Also, a current National Population Register (NPR) is to be prepared. The state government should therefore, in consultation with the RG&CCI and RGCR with reference to lessons derived from the pitfalls faced by Assam government (the only state that has implemented NRC) in the implementation of NRC, consider a cut-off year with least difficulties for implementation of NRC in Manipur. This exercise will be a long drawn out affair and will result in deportation of foreigners/illegal immigrants.
Although the desire of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kangpokpi to return to Imphal is a significant steps of willingness to let ‘bygones be bygones’, this feeling also needs to be expressed by the Kuki-Zo people in Churachandpur and Moreh towns where Meitei families were displaced in the ethnic conflict and also voiced similarly by the CSOs of the valley districts. A normalcy restoration plan for the safe return of IDPs of both communities is required and it should have assurance from the CSOs of both communities not to take law into their own hands with expressed intent to restraint and disengage their radical elements. The plan should consider having outposts of security forces in all sensitive areas buttressed by properly constituted peace committees of state government chaired by senior officers of district administration including members from security forces. The posting policy of the state government would need to be revisited and modified to ensure that there are persons of both communities posted in sensitive locations particularly in police stations, health centers including hospitals to ensure there is no discrimination and ill treatment of minority communities in that particular locality/village.
The world around us has progressed on all fronts and the internet is replete with information for citizens to discern from their environment whether they deserve better treatment. The 73rd Amendment 1992 added a new Part IX to the constitution titled “The Panchayats” covering provisions from Article 243 to 243(O); and a new Eleventh Schedule covering 29 subjects were brought within the functions of the Panchayats. This facility is being implemented in the valley districts of Manipur since 1994 giving them an empowered local self-government. A similar local self-government provision was made for tribal areas in the Sixth Schedule under Article 244 of the Constitution of India. The sixth schedule was designed to protect the indigenous and tribal groups by establishing autonomous district councils or ADCs for administration of tribal areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to safeguard the rights of the tribal population in these states. They are the Karbi-Anglong District, Bodoland Territorial Council, Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council in Assam, Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC), Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) and Chakma Autonomous District Council (originally Pwi-Lakher Regional Council, now trifurcated) in Mizoram, Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council and Garo Hills Autonomous District Council in Meghalaya, and Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in Tripura. This special provision is provided under Article 244-A, 244(2) and Article 275(1) of the Constitution. The existing district councils of Manipur is neither in the Fifth Schedule nor in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and is essentially a state law made by Parliament in 1971 when Manipur was a Part C State of India without legislative powers. The tribes of Manipur, have seen the facilities enjoyed by other tribes living under the ten autonomous district councils across four north eastern states who have been given Sixth Schedule and the special provisions for Nagaland under Article 371-A. Having noticed that the world has changed around them while the tribes in the Hill Areas of Manipur are suppressed and subjugated ever since Manipur became part of the Union of India, and the Bodo people have been given an empowered Bodoland territorial council in 2003 under Article 244-A of the Constitution, the Manipur tribes have been demanding for inclusion of their areas in the Sixth Schedule. The Kuki-Zo tribes, if offered such political settlement against their demand for separate administration may in most probability settle for a similar local self government mechanism.
The path towards normalcy is clear. There are many stakeholders involved to be consulted towards the goal for peace. The Indo-Naga Peace Talks and the issues involved around it would need to be kept in perspective as there are certain sensitivities concerning land of the Naga tribes in the Hill Areas of Manipur which can potentially become a stumbling block and a trigger for conflict. However, most positive thinking people, who want peace and maintain Manipur integrity, may see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. This hope should be the driving force for all progressive thinking people to strive for a solution to end the Manipur crisis.
Ngaranmi Shimray
New Delhi